EJEA International Hybrid Conference 2024
"Future Knowledge and Competence for AI-driven Innovation in Europe and Japan"
EJEA Conference 2024, Linköping, Sweden, 5-7 November
This year’s conference will be held both in person and online at Linköping University (Sweden) on November 5-7, 2024. It will offer online participation for keynotes and workshops from Japan and Europe. Excursions and company visits in Linköping and surrounding places are planned in person in the afternoons.
The EJEA Conference 2024 opens the floor for presentations and discussions from a broad range of perspectives and aspects. Europe and Japan have a lot in common but also face different challenges - on a local as well as on a global level. The conference focuses on the current complex mid-term, and long-term transformations in Japan and Europe - such as realizing fair and trustworthy AI for managing integration, cooperation, participation, and competition in society, economy, and research. Megatrends for 2030 will be guiding the 2024 conference. They include technological progress most notably AI, as well as application areas like economy, health, agriculture, education, society, culture, and work assisted by AI.
Register for EJEA Conference 2024
Conference Objective
The conference aims to update the Japanese-European relationship, to strengthen exchange and collaboration between the two regions focusing on Japan, as well as:
- develop integrated views and common recommendations that have the potential to maximize the opportunities while minimizing the risks
- develop perspectives and strategies for societal and digital transformation in a peaceful spirit based on innovative technology making use of AI
- develop concepts for managing the complex challenges in Japan and Europe: such as integration, cooperation, participation, separation, and competition
Target Groups
Individual experts and citizens, decision-makers and opinion leaders from related organizations, companies, universities, research institutes as well as public administration and governments from Japan and Europe. By this, a platform of knowledge and expertise will be created.
Conference details
The EJEA Conference 2024 is jointly organized by the European Japan Experts Association (EJEA), Linköping University (Sweden), Kagawa University (Japan), Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT (Germany), and NETWORK FOR SCIENCE (Germany).
Hosted by: Linköping University (on site and online)
Venue:
Kronan, Studenthuset, 6-th floor, Campus Valla, Linköping University, Linköping.Map link
Time zone in Linköping: CET (Central European Time).
Public transport: Buses in Linköping can be accessed via the Östgötatrafiken app, which is available in English, follow the link on https://www.ostgotatrafiken.se/. A day pass for unlimited bus travel in Linköping costs 66 Swedish kronor (5.8 Euros).
Official accommodation: Clarion Collection Hotel Slottsparken, Storgatan 76, 582 28 Linköping, Sweden. Booking link
If the link doesn't work, contact the hotel directly at cc.slottsparken@strawberry.se. To book via this email, please mention "EJEA CONFERENCE" in the subject line.
Social dinner: 5 November, 19.00 - 21.45, restaurant SmakSak - to be booked and paid individually. Please pre-book before October 21 to secure your place. Booking link
Guided tour and dinner at the Airforce Museum: 7 November, guided tour at 17.30 (included in the fee), dinner at 19.00 (to be paid individually)
Conference fee: 300€ in-person, 100€ online/students, 1000€ booth/advertisement
Official language of the conference is English.
More information about the conference in this document
Organisations and partners
The EJEA Conference 2024 is jointly organized by
in cooperation with
Faculty of Engineering
Contact
- EJEA Conference 2024 - Submission: ejea-conf-2024-submission@fit.fraunhofer.de
- EJEA Conference 2024 - Conference: ejea-conference-2024@fit.fraunhofer.de
- EJEA Conference 2024 - Registration: ejea2024-registration@fit.fraunhofer.de
For questions, send an email to:
EJEA conference background
The European Japan Experts Association (EJEA) was established by the Japan-German Center Berlin (JDZB) in 1995 and started annual conferences in 2018. The conferences aim to explore the similarities and challenges faced by Europe and Japan in the digital transformation era.
Kindly supported by:
- East Sweden Convention Bureau
- Embassy of Japan in Sweden
- GRANITE
- Linköping Science Park
- RIKEN Europe
- Shinshu University, Faculty of Engineering
- Toshiba International Foundation
In October 2023 the G7 leaders welcomed international guiding principles on AI and a voluntary Code of Conduct for AI developers. This Hiroshima AI Process Comprehensive Policy Framework consists of four pillars:
- Analysis of priority risks, challenges and opportunities of generative AI
- International Guiding Principles for all AI actors in the AI ecosystem
- International Code of Conduct for organizations developing advanced AI Systems
- Project-based cooperation in support of the development of responsible AI tools and best practices
Japan’s AI-related research
Japan’s AI-related research is based on the “Integrated Innovation Strategy 2021” and the “AI Strategy 2019: AI for All People, Industries, Regions, and Governments” which led to the formation of the "AI Japan R&D Network".
This network aims to further enhance Japan's AI-related research capabilities and promote social implementation of research results. Emphasizing the importance of collaboration between universities and public research institutes, the network encourages institutions to leverage their respective strengths.
This network was established in 2019 by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). Kagawa University and Shinshu University belong to the “AI Japan R&D Network”.
The EU’s approach to AI
The EU’s approach to AI centers on excellence and trust, aiming to boost research and industrial capacity while ensuring safety and fundamental rights. "The European Commission's AI Strategy (2018)" prioritizes excellence by fostering innovation, proposing regulations to ensure ethical AI development and deployment, and encouraging collaboration between research organizations and companies as well as collaboration among research centers and investing in research at the EU level.
The European AI Strategy aims to unlock the full potential of AI for societal good while mitigating potential risks, shaping the responsible future of AI.
AI activities at Linköping University
Linköping University has been conducting AI research for over 50 years and today does leading research in a broad range of topics within AI. Notable areas include computer vision, natural language processing, planning, autonomous systems, and machine learning.
Three especially interesting topics are:
- the development of trustworthy and factual large language models (TrustLLM)
- computer vision techniques for video object tracking
- sports analytics. LiU also has several robot labs equipped with ground and aerial robots capable of performing a wide range of tasks
AI activities at Fraunhofer FIT
As a partner for digitization, application-focused generative AI integration and machine learning, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT has been developing IT solutions tailored to people and seamlessly integrated into business processes for 40 years.
As a driving force of human-centered innovation, FIT not only provides guidance, but also shapes the digital transformation in business, the environment and society. Thus, the understanding and purpose-driving integration of generative AI technologies from a user’s perspective play a major role in our research activities. Together with end users, we investigate processes to find suitable, understandable and therefore accepted solutions.
AI activities at Kagawa University
Kagawa University is actively involved in innovative endeavors at the intersection of AI research and education. Kagawa University acts as a representative institution within the Shikoku block of the Japan Inter-University Consortium for Mathematics, Data Science, and AI Education, comprising higher education institutions across Japan.
Kagawa University provides specialized education programs catering to students with varying levels. For instance, "The Crisis Management Program for Mathematics, Data Science and AI Education" offers a unique opportunity to delve into advanced AI utilization techniques, particularly in the realm of disaster mitigation. This program equips students with AI skills in areas such as object detection modeling, which are crucial for identifying slope failure regions and enhancing disaster preparedness measures.
Previous EJEA Conferences
- “Riding the Digital Wave into the Future: Chances, Risks and Actions for Japan and Europe”, jointly organized by EJEA, Fraunhofer FIT, Kagawa University, and Linköping University in 2023 (hybrid): https://ejea.eu/conference-2023/
- “Innovation and Action for Managing Urgent Future Local and Global Issues and Domains in Japan and Europe”, jointly organized by EJEA, Linköping University, Fraunhofer FIT and RIKEN in 2022 (online): https://ejea.eu/conference-2022/ and https://www.fit.fraunhofer.de/en/business-areas/human-centered-engineering-and-design/ejea- conference-2022.html
- International conference on “Human-centered Sustainability and Innovation for an AI-assisted Future: New Interdisciplinary Education & Research for the Next Stages in Japan and Europe” / AI が支援する未来に向けた人間中心のサステイナビリティとイノベーションを 考える: 新たなステージへ導く日本とヨーロッパの学際的な教育と研究の紹介 (Japan) 2021:
https://ejea.eu/conference-2021/ and www.kagawa-u.ac.jp/kuio/circ/event/ejeaconf/ - International conference on “Human-centered Digitalization: How to Develop Next Generations of Humans and Robots for a Secure, Harmonic and Prosperous Future of Europe and Japan” (Austria) 2019: https://ejea.eu/conference-2019/
- International conference on “Integration and Disintegration in the Japanese Vision of Society 5.0: A Model for an Open Society in Europe?” (Sweden) 2018: https://ejea.eu/conference-2018/